June 19, 2013 5:30pm EDTJune 19, 2013 2:51pm EDTCarl Edwards says he was more upset with Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle over an earlier refusal to help him get trash off his grille at Michigan International Speedway than a refusal late in the race.

Carl Edwards said he was more upset with Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle over an earlier refusal to help him get trash off his grille at Michigan International Speedway than a refusal late in the race.

Edwards, in an interview with ESPN.com, said he understood why Biffle would not help him before the final pit stop with about 35 laps remaining and Biffle with a big lead in June 16's 200-lap Quicken Loans 400.

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Biffle went on to win the race. Edwards finished eighth.

"I want us to be the best teammates we can be," Edwards told ESPN.com Tuesday. "I never want somebody to give up a shot at winning a race. ... My hope is he never heard the communication on Lap 70."

That communication was a crack by Edwards on his in-car radio about Biffle. At one point in the race, Edwards said: "He ain't my teammate."

After the race, when Sporting News asked Edwards if he expected Biffle's help to get trash off his grille, Edwards replied: "It's his job to help."

That question was meant in reference to the end of the race, but Edwards told ESPN.com he thought it was about an earlier request and not when Biffle had his big lead.

"That one I understood,'' Edwards said about Biffle's decision late in the race. "It was toward the end of the race and it was for the lead.

But that doesn't mean the Edwards team was happy with Biffle at the end of the race.

Edwards had to pit under green because his car was overheating and was at the tail end of the lead lap when the race restarted following a caution. Over his radio when told of his track position he said: "I know what our position is. We've got to thank our teammate for that. That's really appreciative."

Also after the race, crew chief Jimmy Fennig told NASCAR.com: "(We) didn't get any help from our teammate, and he put us in a hole."

In summing up the race, Fennig said again that Biffle didn't help the team.

"We were a bit too free," Fennig told NASCAR.com. "We finally got it (better) at the end, but we got paper in our grille.

"Tried to get the 16 [Biffle's car] to help get it off and he didn't want to help us."

Biffle on Tuesday said not everybody has the information out of the race to understand what happens.

"We all have different reactions when we're in the car or when we just get out of the car and our finish or result isn't what we wanted because of a certain situation," he said.

"So I've done the same thing. … I understand. I've been there. And sometimes things get taken out of context of what you actually meant and what you said."